Kirk Kushin talks about Super Teen Topia in Newsarama."It seems like most teen books today are either a variation of the Teen Titans (the classic super team institution) or the New Mutants (the academy Sky High theme). I wanted to develop something that took a look at being empowered more from the sensibilities of a John Hughes film. Being a teen and operating in a high school environment is a major challenge… just because you have “powers” doesn’t mean your problems go away. The book is very much in the vein of Greatest American Hero – where the character had a suit with powers but he was still dealing with everyday issues… stuff that was funny because you could relate to it. Super Teen*Topia is all the good stuff of Freaks and Geeks, Square Pegs and Sixteen Candles… but in a “super-soap” format."

Super Teen*Topia reviewed by Ray McLelland."And such is Veronica Mars meets 90201 meets Dawson’s Creek meets Revenge of the Nerds all wrapped up in Super Teen Topia. It’s not Generation X where the kids in school all run off in their costumes to beat up so-and-so and team-up with Howard the Duck. We meet our stars of the book in issue 1 and know right away that by issue 5 they aren’t going to be off in costume fighting Galactus. S.T.T. is a real feel slice-of-life comic book with a dash of superpowers thrown in. "

Super Teen*Topia issue #1 published in Newsarama."With issue #4 due out in October, Forcewerks has provided Newsarama with the full first issue of Super Teen Topia by Kirk Kushin and Gonzalo Martinez with colors by Laura Abella. "

"Super Teen*Topia is something I didn’t think was even possible anymore – a new angle on superheroes that doesn’t sacrifice the elements that make the genre so much fun in the first place. This is the kind of stuff that’s making it fun to read comic books again."

Kirk Kushin talk about Super Teen*Topia on jazma On line."Essentially STT is about what teenagers would really do with super-powers. The best analogy I can give is; imagine if you give a sixteen-year old a million bucks, I doubt they are going to donate it all to charity. So I’m trying to take an alternate look at the traditional super-powered teen as opposed to the whole “great power/responsibility” riff. But, I like to qualify that by saying this is not an edgy deconstruction of the genre -- it’s actually more like my valentine to some of the great series I grew up with like Chris Claremont’s The New Mutants."

Kirk Kushin is going back to High School with Forcewërks Productions' Super Teen*Topia. It is a teen adventure in the tradition of Ferris Bueller's Day Off. Kirk sat down with Silver Bullet's Gearalt Finlay to talk about the new series from Alias Entertainment.

Gearalt Finlay: What is Forcewërks Productions?

Kirk Kushin: Forcewërks is the organization I created with Mark R. Root Sr., to develop and produce our film, multi-media and comic book projects.

Finlay: Is this your first comics?

Kushin: No, we actually entered the comic publishing field a couple years ago when we licensed the rights for B.A.B.E. FORCEto another company. We decided to publish the series ourselves after their option expired. Hopefully your readers have enjoyed some of our past issues. You can check them out at www.babeforce.net.

Finlay: The art is by Ergo Comic's Gonzalo Martínez, how did the two of you get together?

Kushin: I hired Gonzalo to do a short for Dr. Chaos: American Idyll and I really liked his style. But it was when I met him in person in San Diego that we really hit it off. He was interested in doing more B.A.B.E. FORCE work, he's very partial to Agent Nicolette but I had something else in mind for him.

Finlay: Were you familiar with his work on Dr. Mortis, Claudia en la Red or Holed Up?

Kushin: I was familiar with his other work, but again, it was really the short he did for us that impressed me. I see a lot of Paul Smith in Gonzalo's renderings and I've always liked that style, it's reminiscent of animation and the characters are very affable.

Finlay: Gonzalo lives in Chile how do you get everything worked out shipping the scripts and art internationally?

Kushin: Actually if it wasn't for the Internet this comic wouldn't be possible. Even though he's in Chile and I'm in California, it's like being next door! I email him the full script and he emails me the pencil scans. Mark and I look them over, make any tweaks and send them back for inking. Laura Abella downloads the files directly from Gonzalo and makes them come to life with her colors. From there - they come back to Mark, who preps them to send to our letterer Michael David Thomas. From those proofs I adjust the script a bit and then we finalize and upload it to Alias.

Finlay: What sets Super Teen*Topia apart from all the other teen super hero comics? Kushin: They don't become X-Titans clones. There's no jet, no danger room and no unstable molecules available to these sixteen year olds, so they have to manage as best they can. Some members of the cast don't even want to super-heroes, so the book focuses on high school life as opposed to fighting some costumed villain every month. I keep calling it "Ferris Bueller in tights" and that's a pretty good description.

Finlay: Who are the main characters?

Kushin: Paige is the solar powered girl-next-door. She loves horses and never causes her parents any grief. Until she develops powers. Cam is the water-wielding prankster who has no interest in ever putting on a costume and is the reluctant hero of the bunch. Diva is the tk powered life of the party and enjoys being.a diva. Kevin is the daydreaming comic-book fan whose powers don't quite measure up to his fantasies.

Finlay: Is this similar to the movie Hero High?

Kushin: Actually I never saw the film, but I did see the trailer and it looked like a parody of the X-Men "lifestyle." The characters in Super Teen*Topia aren't part accepted members of the super-hero culture in their world, so there are no flying busses or anything like that. They are regular teens in a world where super-powers are fairly common.

Finlay: Are these costume heroes who go to the same high school, or just high school students with super powers?

Kushin: That's a great question and something I've been hoping to elaborate on. I would have loved to have them all at the same school, but that seemed too improbable. It's bad enough that Cam and Kevin are classmates, but I needed the common setting to draw from because Cam is very involved in student council and his life revolves around it. This frustrates Kev, who thinks they should be out trying to "make a difference." Paige is home schooled and Diva attends a performing arts school, like you see in Fame. How they all come together is something we show in the first issue. But again, they don't become a typical crime-fighting unit, it is more about having a peer group, finding a friend they can relate to.

Finlay: Is the series more comedy than action?

Kushin: Super Teen*Topia is very character based, so there are both light moments and lot of "teen angst." Not the dark moody kind, but the "I love her why doesn't she love me" kind. But this is a comic book with action, so we see powers in use both in the "real" life and in Kev's fantasies.

Finlay: You have been quoted saying "If Stan Lee and John Hughes had a love child -Super Teen*Topiawould be the result." It's a great line but what does it actually mean? Kushin: Thanks, I like that line too. It's meant to convey this: when Stan Lee created the Fantastic Four forty years ago he offered reader's a new look at the super-hero. I'm taking the Marvel mythology I grew up with and merging it with the "suburban teens coming of age" motif. This thinking stems from the question I've always had, "does everyone with powers have to don a costume and have a cosmic nemesis to be a hero?" Super Teen*Topia says no!

Finlay: You have a 99¢ issue zero listed in the current issue of previews, can you make any money from a 99¢ comic?

Kushin: If you believe in your product you have to be willing to stand behind it. And honestly it's an insidious tactic because once I get hooked I'll get your money for a long, long time!

Finlay: Is this an on-going series or a mini-series?

Kushin: Currently it is a bi-monthly title, but depending on sales we will adjust to a monthly schedule. It's really up to all the readers. But based on the positive reaction I've gotten from the book so far, I'd say this series is going to be a big hit for Alias. If you look at the sales of Spider-Girl and Invincible there is a readership out there hungry for this type of story.

Finlay: The series is billed as a "super soap" can we expect multiple storylines that end a different times?

Kushin: Yes, like all good soap operas there will be ongoing storylines as well as things that are wrapped up in one issue. Super Teen*Topia is like a TV show where you get one complete story per sitting, but there's enough mythology to drag you deeper into the world. For example in issue #2 they go miniature golfing and all the action of the story happens during that one little outing. If that doesn't sound like a fun comic, I don't know what does! So plunk down your dollar and pick-up issue zero!

Gonzalo Martinez is Richard Johnston's partner-in-crime on RICH JOHNSTON'S HOLED UP. Martinez, a Chilean artist, joined Johnston, the creator of the popular "Lying in the Gutters" column for the website Comic Book Resources, for a three-issue mini-series that Avatar Press began publishing in April 2004. Several weeks ago, I sent Martinez a short round of questions and his responses make up Mr. Charlie #31:

Would you mind giving us a little background or biographical information about yourself?

GM: I was born in 1961 and I've living in Santigo de Chile since that date. I'm married with children (actually two lovely kids). I studied architecture and I worked for 15 years as an architect, working on comics on my spare time but last year I decided to leave my job and try to do comics as a main job.

What were the first comics that you were exposed to, and/or when did you first see American comics? What were your favorites?

GM: I have read comics since I was a little child (3 or 4 years old). My family used to read Spanish language versions of American comics, and not only American but also French, Spanish, Argentinean and Chilean comics. I used to love the Sunday comics pages where I read PRINCE VALIANT AND JOHNNY HAZZARD, for example. I was exposed mainly to DC Comics titles because they were published in Spanish by the Mexican publisher Novaro (I'm talking about the 60s and the 70s). I loved all of them you know, SUPERMAN, BATMAN, the JUSTICE LEAGUE [OF AMERICA], but I used to have a lot of fun with the weird titles: METAMORPHO, ULTRA DE MULTIMAN, THE CHALLENGRS OF THE UNKNOWN, the characters from Earth 2. I was a big fan of BLACKHAWK and I loved the short life of THE SECRET SIX.

When did you decide to become a comic book artist? How did you educate or train yourself to that end?

GM: Actually I like to think that I was born as a comic book artist. I've been doing comics before I learned to read, you know, on the tables and walls. I learned by myself, reading a lot of comics and standard literature and going to the movies. It was not easy because the strong Chilean comic publishing industry died suddenly from 1973 to 1975.

Who are the artists and cartoonists who influenced you and continue to influence you?

GM: It's a long, long list, I can give you the names that right now come to my mind: Will Eisner, Mike Wieringo, Jim Steranko, Carl Barks, Michael Lark, John Bogdanove, Charles Schultz, the Hernandez bros, Jeff Smith, Mike Kaluta, Barry Windsor Smith, Pat McEown, Carlos Gimenez, Herge, Hermann, Edgar P. Jacobs, Hugo Pratt, Moebius, Max Carvajal, Martin Caceres. Uf! A long list. It doesn't mean that I'd like to draw the way they do or that only their artistic skills influenced my pencil. They have been an influence in a more important and deep meaning. I've been influenced by their storytelling and the love they put in their work.

Have you done any professional work prior to getting the assignment to draw Holed Up?

GM: I've been published in my country since 1987 in a wide range of media, from independent comic magazines to newspapers doing comics, illustrations and comic strips. My strip HORACE & THE PROFESSOR was published since 1989 to 1999 in the main Chilean newspaper EL MERCURIO and in the comics banner of the Opera internet browser. I published a short story written by Matt Starnes on Digital Webbing Presents. You can take a look at some of that material at my on line portfolio http://www.ergocomics.cl/martinez.

How did you get the assignment to draw Holed Up?

GM: It was a case of the right submission email to the right publisher in the right moment.

Are you contributing anything to the story? How much freedom does Rich's script give you to experiment or make changes when you need to make some story element work visually.

GM: I like to think of myself as a storyteller, my mission is to tell the story the better that I can. My main contribution to the story was to get involved in the story that Rich wanted to tell through his script. I tried to feel and understand what Rich wanted to say and tell that story through drawings. Well I admit that part was kind of easy because I felt a connection between our twisted minds. So I did not feel the need of adding or changing things. Sometimes I added or took out a panel or so because the pace, but basically I drew the script. Any detail that I added to the panels was intended to reinforce the story and give it a supporting background.

How familiar are you with American pop culture or with the segments of American culture that Rich satirizes: the American middle class, the so-called nuclear family unit, the American love or some would say obsession with firearms? Are you having to do a lot of research?

GM: This question deserves a 3 hours of friendly and interesting conversation sitting around a cafe table... but in few words: U.S.A. culture is a very strong culture and I'm not talking about the subject of Holed Up. I'm sure you'll be surprised on how much we (South Americans, for example) know about U.S.A. history, culture, politics, art and social movements. The American movie, television, music, fashion and comic book industry is all over the world and those are strong cultural vehicles. So I am very familiar with the U.S.A. culture and I was very familiar with the specific subject of Holed Up. The research I did was based on the scenographic details. If you want to talk more about this point, just ask; I'll be glad to talk about it. I love the sociological stuff.

Rich mentioned in a post at Newsarama that you'd added a few elements to the cover such as a belt buckle with a Confederate symbol on it and a KKK jack in the box? Do you know anything about that American subculture that many people think of as White Southerners? What do you know about the Confederacy or the KKK's brutal history of murdering Black Americans?

GM: I think the last answer works for this too.

I ask because some people wouldn't think that the KKK would be an appropriate subject for cartoon gags, though I'd love to have one of those jack in the boxes. So is this stuff just grist for the mill - less about substance and more about humor?

GM: This is one of the issues that humor has to face. There is always some topics that are difficult to touch because a lot of delicate reasons. Uf!... this is another subject that deserves a cafe conversation. I'd prefer you read the book first and then I'd love to talk about humor and parody. Anyway this book is a "The Simpsons," "Married with Children," "The Addams Family" kind of stuff, well... just with semiautomatics weapons.

THANKS, GONZALO: You can find out more about Holed Up at www.avatarpress.com/holedup/, the home of the Holed Up Army. The series is scheduled to wrap in July.

Martinez's name is a new one to me, but he hits it out of the park with this effort. His cartoony approach suits the over-the-top, satirical tone of these characters perfectly, and the level of detail he brings to bear is more than a little impressive. His style here strikes me as an unusual cross between those of Gary (City of Silence) Erskine and Batton Supernatural Law) Lash. I think the visual highlight of the book is Grannie's introduction. The energy and dementia that Martinez injects into that scene really makes the most of that brief and surreal moment in Johnston's script.

Artist Gonzalo Martinez does a fantastic job selling the sight gags, but his characters' body language is often beautifully pitched as well. There are some great hidden sight gags in the background, and he manages to bring a bizarre sense of reality to the whole thing.

I love the art in this book. Given the story, there needed to be lightness in the art, and here that's just what you get. Martinez delivers truly "comic" art, art that people would equate with the funnybooks of old - at least here in the UK. But there is also a modernicity in the layouts, a nice amalgamation of modern and classic styles. This makes for a visually interesting read. Perhaps the most interesting thing in the art though are the little details that have been included - whether it be in the foreground, or more often than not in the background.

Gonzalo's art, which puts me in mind of Batton (Supernatural Law) Lash's work, captures the zaniness and goofy tone of Johnston's satirical script perfectly. I really wish we could see more of his work in color, though; the cover(s) just isn't enough.

I have been published in my country since 1987 in a wide range of media, from independent comic magazines to newspapers doing comics, illustrations and comic strips. My strip “Horacio y el Profesor” was published since 1991 to 1999 in the main chilean newspaper El Mercurio and in the comics banner of the Opera internet browser.

In 2001 I started to collaborate with writers from all over the world in order to expand the limits of his art.

Formerly an architect, in 2003 finally I decided to work as a full time comic book artist.

Since 2003 I have worked mainly for the american market on titles like”DigitalWebbing presents” with Matt Starnes, “Rich Johnston’s Holed Up” with Rich Johnston for Avatar Press, “B.A.B.E. Force” with Kirk Kushin for Forcewërks, “Leather Jacket Guy” with Matt Starnes and Diego Jourdan for 01comics and Romance comics for Arrow Publications LLC with several writers. I have made illustrations for Penny Farthing press and Ape Entertaintment.

At this moment I'm working on a second graphic novel of Super Teen*Topia, written by Kirk Kushin and formely published by Alias Enterprises. The first 5 issues published by Alias plus fifty brand new pages will be published as a graphic novel very soon.

In October of 2007, Alfagüara, the chilean branch of the spanish publishing house, published my 120 pages graphic novel “Road Story”. It’s an adaptation of the short story written by the chilean writer and movie director Alberto Fuguet.

I live in Parque Forestal in Santiago de Chile with my wife and two kids.